State of Emergency Declared in Florida, Georgia, Carolinas

As the powerful Category 5 Hurricane Matthew creeps northward through the Caribbean Sea—wreaking havoc in Haiti, Cuba, and the Bahamas—three southeastern American states have declared a state of emergency in anticipation of the storm. Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency on Monday and, the following day, announced the activation of 500 Florida National Guardsmen over the next two days to deal with what he described as a potential “catastrophe” for the state.

On Tuesday, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley declared a statewide emergency and announced plans to evacuate the state’s coastline—approximately 1.1 million people—with a goal of moving people at least 100 miles away from the shoreline. North Carolina and Georgia’s governors declared states of emergency for 66 and 13 coastal counties, respectively. Read more at at THE WEATHER CHANNEL.